Railway News Continents

Bombardier Wins Contract to Supply New Propulsion Technology to London Underground

Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation has been awarded the contract by London Underground (LU) to supply new motors and traction control equipment for its fleet of Central line trains.

This contract, which will commence today and run until 2024, is valued by Bombardier Transportation at approximately £112.1 million ($ 143,7 million US, 121,8 million euro). with Bombardier also providing ongoing maintenance support.

Mark Wild, Managing Director of London Underground, said, “The Central line is one of the busiest and most important lines on the London Underground network. We are making a number of improvements to reduce delays and make the line more reliable for our customers. Installing new motors is one of the most important parts of this work, and will mean we can deliver a more reliable service to our customers, which will in turn boost capacity.”

Richard Hunter, Managing Director of Bombardier Transportation UK commented, “This important contract win is testament to the significant improvements in energy consumption, reliability and performance of our BOMBARDIER MITRAC systems. This win is also a ringing endorsement of our traction system business, following MITRAC’s strong performance on other London Underground lines. Bombardier has a long history of working with London Underground, and we continue to provide cutting edge technology across the tube network, playing a vital role in keeping London moving.”

Bombardier’s re-traction project is part of LUL’s larger Central Line Improvement Programme (CLIP). The CLIP will bring a number of passenger-focussed improvements and is expected to significantly reduce customer-affecting failures on the Central line fleet.

For the programme, Bombardier will replace the direct current (DC) traction motors on Central line trains with the latest MITRAC alternating current (AC) traction systems and MITRAC traction control equipment. The Central line ‘92 Tube Stock are the last LU trains to use DC traction motors, and MITRAC will bring significant benefits by reducing energy consumption while greatly improving fleet reliability and performance. In total, Bombardier will supply new motors and traction control equipment for 85 8-car Central line trains (680 cars in total). The project will be led from Bombardier’s Västeras site in Sweden, also leveraging the capabilities of other sites in the Bombardier manufacturing network. The installation of the first train, plus associated vehicle integration works and testing will be undertaken at Bombardier’s Derby site in the UK.

Between 2009 and 2018, Bombardier has delivered or has orders for more than 2,800 rail vehicles for Transport for London (LU’s parent company), helping to transform the travel experience for millions of London commuters. The BOMBARDIER MOVIA trains on LUL’s Victoria Line are recording excellent reliability with 100,000-plus miles between service-affecting failures, whilst its MOVIA ‘S7’ trains on the sub-surface lines have reached a peak of 200,000 miles between failures.

About Bombardier Transportation

Bombardier Transportation is a global leader in rail technology and offers the broadest portfolio in the industry. It covers the full spectrum of rail solutions, ranging from trains to sub-systems and signalling. The company also provides complete transport systems, e-mobility technology and maintenance services. As an innovation driver, Bombardier Transportation continuously breaks new ground in sustainable mobility. It provides integrated solutions that create substantial benefits for operators, passengers and the environment. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Bombardier Transportation employs around 37,150 people and its products and services operate in over 60 countries.

About Bombardier

Bombardier is the world’s leading manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation.

Bombardier is headquartered in Montréal, Canada. Our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD) and we are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, we posted revenues of $16.3 billion. News and information are available at www.bombardier.com

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